Earth 8 Batman vol 1: Anniversary
by Gabriel Vargas
Summary: This is an AU that would have existed if the COIE never happened populated with postCrisis characters. Here Superman stayed dead and Batman died during Knightfall. This is about a new Batman. Posted Multiverse as E8: Batman 1 thru 4
1. Chapter 1

This story was originally posted as part of the Earth 8 section on a website called the Multiverse.

Earth 8 is a world mentioned during the mini-series Infinite Crisis that would have existed if the Original crisis never happened. It would have been the home to all of the characters that were created after the Original Crisis or have had a post-Crisis reboot of their origin. It does have room for some pre-Crisis Characters, to exisit on this world, but for the most part, it's strictly post Crisis characters and legacies. Reviews are welcome and appreciated.

For more Earth-8 stories visit the Multiverse (link is in my profile). **

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_Originally posted at the Multiverse as E8: Batman #1 on 2/28/07_

**Anniversary Part 1**

**Earth 8**

**Gotham City**

_It's real windy tonight, a howling-type wind, which whistles through the night. It causes me to keep my cape close to my body so I don't give away my position. The full moon makes it harder for me to hide on this rooftop, but luckily, the criminals below are more concerned with their score than minding their surroundings._

_It was a four-man crew, loading merchandise from a warehouse into a truck, one in the cab, and the other three scurrying back and forth between the truck and warehouse. My thoughts start to wander, wondering where my partner is and what could possibly be taking so long. Robin should've been here by now. Not that I really need her to take these scum out, it's just punctuality is important in our line of work._

_I start to focus back on the task at hand. The microphones in the ears of my cowl let me know that the perps are ready to leave. I can't wait for Robin any longer._

_Four perps shouldn't be a problem._

_Time to go to work.…_

_Time to boogey…_

"Come on Chucky, move it." One of the criminals said, exiting the warehouse before Batman landed on him, taking him out. Using him as a springboard, Batman launched himself at Chucky, who stood still, paralyzed by fear. Batman placed a kick to the side of his head, turning Chucky around before he fell down.

Reacting to the sound of a gun being cocked behind him, Batman grabbed a batarang, snapped it into place like a switchblade and threw it into the cab. Before the gun-toting criminal knew what happened, he was disarmed by the batarang and Batman was on top of him, pummeling him to the floor.

_That's three, the fourth…_ Batman thought as he heard the fourth perp trying to get the drop on him. He grabbed another batarang and spun around, but relented throwing it, as he saw a red, green and blonde blur drop from above taking him out. Batman put his batarang away and cuffed the perp. He exited the cab to see Robin doing the same to the others.

"You're late." Batman said, disappointed in her tardiness.

"Sorry," Robin apologized, cuffing the last perp, "I had to stop a mugging." She looked back at her partner with an apologetic smile on her face. Batman stared her down, making his partner a little nervous. He reached for his grappling gun and shot it at a near by building.

"Come on, we have work to do." He said as he ascended into the night.

"Fun." Robin said, following suit.

**Gotham Diamond District**

Commissioner Michael Akins got out of his car to survey the crime scene. After doing a lap, he decided to make his way to the lead detective on the scene.

"So… what's the story?" Akins asked.

"Well, it the same MO as the other robberies," The detective began to explain, "The pair emerges from the shadows, binds the victims with what they describe as an invisible force field and then robs them blind."

"Did they give a description?"

"Man and a woman, guessing 18-25, but as usual, the lights were killed, so they couldn't really tell anything besides gender and that at least one of them was wearing a cape."

"A cape? Christ." Akins cursed, "The media is having a field day pinning these robberies on Batman and Robin, even claiming that it's a new duo in town now."

"If they even exist." The detective commented. "Speaking of the media, your favorite was here a little while ago."

"Arturo Rodriguez?"

"Yup."

"Dammit."

Arturo Rodriguez was on his way back to the WBGK studios from the crime scene at the Diamond District when he picked up his phone and called his producer.

"Talk to me."

"It's me." Arturo responded.

"So, is it good news?"

"Yes it is."

"Good get over here, and I mean like yesterday. I want a special edition of Taking Sides to be the lead on the news tonight, to address this Batman menace."

Batman and Robin had finished the last of their rounds around the city before they decided to call it a night.

"Why weren't you honest with me earlier?" Batman asked Robin as they entered the Batmobile.

"Are you talking about when I was late to that bust?" Robin asked, with a sense of disbelief in her voice as she closed her door.

"Stephanie, if we are going to be partners, you need to be straight with me." Batman said as he closed his door and started the Batmobile. "So where were you?" he asked as he hit the accelerator.

Robin turned away and looked out her window. She started to cry and answered, "I went to see her."

"She who..." Batman paused, "your daughter?"

Robin nodded as she turned to face her partner. "It's hard to turn off maternal instincts. She's two now and she's turning into such a beautiful girl."

"Look Stephanie," Batman began, "I'm not going to pretend to understand what you are or what you went through and this might sound cold, but she's not your daughter anymore. You need to put those feelings aside when we're out on the street…"

"Spare me the lecture." Robin rolled her eyes away from Batman.

"You can't be that emotional and reckless out there." Batman raised his voice. "I know, I've suffered the consequences."

"I'm sorry." Robin apologized, rubbing the tears from her eyes.

"If you need time to get through this, you can go on inactive duty."

"I'll be fine." Robin said, taking a deep breath to regain her composure.

"I'm serious Stephanie; you could make a fatal…."

"I SAID I'll be fine." Robin said, raising her voice as well. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"You have to show me, out there." Batman stopped the car. "You have the night off tomorrow. Go home and get some rest."

"Okay." Robin opened the door and started to get out, but hesitated for a moment. "How did you know I was lying?"

"I didn't."

"You know it's our one year anniversary right?"

"Yeah, I do." He said, smiling. Robin smiled back, exited the car and shot her grapple into the night to make her way home. Batman took a deep breath and drove off, deciding he had one more stop to make.

The light from the full moon was enough for Arnold Stromwell to navigate himself through his den this late at night. He sat down at his desk, pulled out a cigar and lit it up, as he had too much to worry about to sleep. Normally, his worries pertained to maintaining and adding to his criminal empire, except for tonight. He was facing a series of indictments in the morning, but his lawyers felt that they had a good chance to get most of them thrown out. For the thousand dollars an hour he was paying to this team, they'd better.

The wind picked up, rattling the trees, whistling through the branches, and unlatched the window behind him. He looked at it and quickly dismissed it as coincidence. He took a few more puffs of his cigar before he put it out and decided to go to bed. Unfortunately, he was unable to do so.

"What the…." Stromwell stammered, "What the hell is going on?" He didn't feel any ropes or other restraints on him. He was dumbfounded on how he was being held in his chair. He looked up as he heard the nearby light bulbs break one after another, followed by the door to his den opening. While the light from the moon was enough to get around, it wasn't enough to make out the details on this person standing at the door. The only thing he could make out was that he was wearing a cape.

"Well, I had to see it to believe it." Stromwell said, struggling against his invisible bonds. "So the rumors are true, you have gone rogue." The caped figure just stood silent and this annoyed Stromwell. "Well, what do you want?" He screamed.

"What I want Arnie," the caped man began, "Is to find out where that degenerate bastard you call your nephew is." His voice was altered by a voice changer, making it sound computerized.

"What could you want with that loser?"

"Let's just say it's personal. Now where is he?"

"Screw you bat-turd. My nephew may be a piece of trash, but I'm not rattin out family."

A red star flew from the caped-man's hand and embedded itself into the chair, centimeters from Stromwell's head.

"Look," that computerized voice said, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." He held up another red star, which glistened in the moonlight. "Either way, I'm going to find out where that scum is."

"I don't know where he is. I haven't seen him in months since I kicked him out." Stromwell said, with his heart racing and sweat pouring down his face. "He hangs with some dirt bags down by the wharf, he might be with them."

"Gee whiz Arnie, thanks a lot." The caped man said sarcastically. "Let's go."

Another figure emerged from behind Stromwell. He could see that this person was a woman. She walked over to her partner and stood next to his side, as he raised his arm facing his palm toward Stromwell. A bright red glow emitted from the center.

"Come on, I don't know where he is." Stromwell pleaded, feeling that it was the end for him.

"Don't worry Arnie; I'm no petty murderer… well, at least not in your case." The glow on his palm intensified. "Me and Nightwing are going to rob you blind, then settle up with your nephew. Don't worry, I'm not taking everything. I'm going to leave you with a wicked headache in the morning." An X-shaped energy beam emerged from the glow, hitting Stromwell in the head, rendering him unconsciousness. Nightwing made a motion with her hand and let him slump in his chair. The two looked at each other and left the study, with a red X glowing across his face.

**Gotham Cemetery**

Batman stood in front of the largest headstone in the entire cemetery. It was about eight feet tall and most of it was in the form of an angel, with its wings and arms fully extended. At the base of the angel's feet, the name Wayne was engraved. Batman had three roses in his hand. He placed one at the left most edge of the base, under the engraving for Thomas Wayne, then one at the center, under the engraving for Martha Wayne.

"I wonder if I gave you as much trouble as Steph's giving me. I probably did, right? She shows so much promise and courage and I know I can trust her, but there are times like tonight where she was reckless and careless and I worry about her. Especially since I lived through the consequences of being that way and I don't want her to repeat my mistakes. I want her to succeed, probably more than she does, and I know she wants it bad. I see so many similarities between how you found me and how I found her…"

He placed the last rose at the right side of the base, under the engraving for Bruce Wayne.

"Maybe, I'm too worried about her repeating my mistakes, when I should be worried about repeating yours."

Batman made one more pass around Gotham before he decided to retire for the evening. He made his way up from the Batcave's parking garage and to the changing room. He took off the cape and cowl before the intercom beeped.

"Yes Alfred."

"Master Jason, I'm glad you are finally here. I took the liberty of TiVOing the news tonight."

"Why do I need to see tonight's news?" Jason Todd asked.

"I think you need to see it for yourself, sir."

**To be continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

_Originally posted at the Multiverse as E8: Batman #2 on 3/30/07_

**Anniversary part 2**

**Gotham City**

_WBGK TV presents, a special edition of Gotham's favorite late night program…_

_TAKING SIDES!_

_And now… the man who's not afraid to take sides and tell it like it is… ARTURO RODRIGUEZ!_

"We have a big show tonight people." Arturo said as he began his newscast. He was wearing a grey three-piece suit, sitting behind a crescent-moon shaped desk with a coffee mug on it. "Vigilantism has been a problem for years, not just here in Gotham, but all over the United States and the World. For years, rumors have swirled in the streets of Gotham about the existence of these costume vigilantes, none more famous and notorious than Batman and Robin, whose existence the GCPD denies. While most accounts have had them on the right side of the law, the recent crime wave to hit Gotham suggests otherwise and that we may have a different Dynamic Duo on our hands…"

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**Robin's War Journal**

_Tonight I'm doing some rooftop surveillance. I know I'm going catch some flack from Batman about being out here, but I couldn't just sit around after that yellow journalist smeared our names on TV. My target just went into Chuck's Bar and Grill. I've been there a few times after school, and I can validate the claim they make about their wings being the best in Gotham._

_My mind drifts to last night and my daughter. Batman was right to get on my case; I was careless and reckless and have to learn to keep myself under control. It's hard to do with school, Gymnastics, and my feelings resulting from giving up my daughter for adoption 2 years ago. I don't regret doing it. No 14 year old should be nor is fit to be a mother. I got to get better at dealing with it if I'm going to make this city a better place for her. _

_But I CAN handle it, even if Batman doesn't think so. I'll prove it to him, with everything I got. If this job were easy, anyone would do it, and I know I can. If I can survive labor pains and giving my baby away, then I can handle anything any of the dirtball scumbags can throw at me…_

"What are you doing here?" a voice from behind her said.

_

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_**Welcome back to TAKING SIDES!**_

"Welcome back. Tonight's topic is Batman and Robin, do they exist, are they on our side, and have they been replaced by a new duo? Here with me is a high ranking officer of the Gotham Police Department who is speaking with us on the condition of anonymity." A flat-screen plasma television lowered over Arturo's left shoulder and he turned to face it. On the screen was a picture of a black silhouette. "First, I would like to thank you for coming on tonight's show, it takes a lot of guts to break rank and do what you're doing. On behalf of Gotham City, I'd like to thank you."

"Thanks for having me." A voice that was heavily disguised said.

"Let's get to it. We know the official stance of the GCPD is that Batman and Robin do not exist, how did they come to that conclusion?"

"It's more of a matter that they can't really prove anything definitively. The GCPD has launched many investigations into the reports of Batman and Robin, and ultimately, there was no conclusive evidence to determine if they exist. Most of the eye-witness accounts come from people whose credibility is suspect. We're talking about the homeless, junkies, prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers and most of your typical Gotham lowlifes."

"You said 'investigations', about how many have there been?"

"Well… enough to make the file on them about 800 pages long. We have to look into each case in accordance to our vigilante policy."

"It seems to me that a lot of work, man-power and taxpayer money went into investigating a supposed urban myth."

"I can assure you that the only reason that the 'urban myth' as you put it is the official stance of the GCPD is because all of the evidence that we have collected over the years is all circumstantial, and even if the District Attorney would want to proceed, who are we going to bring to trial? If can't prove concretely that they exist, how are we going to prove who they really are?"

"I see your point, and it's interesting that you're implying that the GCPD actually believes they do exist. Are you saying that that's the case?"

"Absolutely, most officers do believe Batman and Robin exist. The evidence also suggests that there have been different people in those roles, especially now."

"Okay, we need to take a break, but we'll pick up on that thought right after this. You're watching Taking Sides."

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Robin dropped her binoculars and spun around into a fighting stance, grabbing her collapsible Bo staff from her belt. Her senses caught up to her reflexes when she saw a familiar charcoal grey costume with a black bat symbol on the chest. 

"I asked you a question." Batman said.

"Look," Robin put her Bo staff away and picked up the binoculars. "I know you said to take the night off, but after seeing that jerk drag us through the mud like that, I had to do something. With last night's incident with Stromwell, the connection became obvious."

Batman walked to Robin's side while she resumed her surveillance on the bar. "All four targets were fronts for Stromwell's criminal activity. Any fourth grader with a detective kit could've figured that out."

"So are you implying that I don't know that all of them used to be frequented by a certain nephew of Stromwell's who had been on the run for a while, and who recently reached out to him to no avail and has been seen with a bunch of old friends by the wharf, one of whom is in that bar right now?" Robin looked at Batman and gave him a sly smirk.

Batman gave her one right back. It was something like that that reminded him of her potential and why he chose her to be his partner.

Robin resumed looking into the binoculars. "Our boy is on the move."

"Let's boogey," Both of them reached for their grapples. "And Robin, the next time you disobey me; you're suspended from active duty."

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Sidney wasn't someone you would think of a criminal at first glance, or any glance. He barely broke 5 feet tall, wore glasses and clothes that were too big for him and was very clumsy. His crew nicknamed him Bilbo, until they came up with that was catchier in Sid the Squid. He hoped that joining this crew would lead to money and being noticed, but all he ever did was run errands and act as a lookout. They sent him to get a bunch of Chuck's famous wings, a favorite of an old friend of theirs who joined up with them recently. He cut through an alley to get to his car, when his feet got caught on something and were taken out from under him. He started to rise, dropping the two bags full of wings. When he finally came to a stop, he was face to face with a blonde girl in a long red tunic and green leggings. 

"Hi." Robin said giving him a four-finger wave. He felt a strong grip grab him by his shirt and soon he was face to face with the Batman and sweating bullets.

"Start talking about Tony Zucco."

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_**We now return to TAKING SIDES!**_

"Welcome back," Arturo resumed. " We are talking about Batman and Robin. Officer, before the break you said that they exist and its possible that more than one person has taken up their mantle."

"That's correct sir. The eyewitness accounts have described different Batmans and Robins."

"Please elaborate."

"Well, I'll start with Robin. Robin has usually been described as a Caucasian male, estimated between ages 12-16, height around 5'1 to 5'6 and black hair. There was a 2 year gap between appearances of a Robin, during which we believe a new person was trained to assumed the identity."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, Robin appeared to actually get younger and had a completely different fighting style that the original, who was more of an aerialist. Then that Robin seemed to disappear, shortly following the Arkham Breakout, before the current Robin appeared on the scene. A female, ages 14-18 about 5'6 and blonde hair. Not much is known about this one, since we've only had reports on her for only a year running."

"What about Batman? Do you believe that more than one person has assumed that mantle?"

"Yes, we have various descriptions that show significant differences in appearance and styles, plus it's kinda hard to dismiss all of the rumors on the street that the original Batman was killed in action."

"We'll pick up on that after this…"

* * *

Tony Zucco and his three other pals were sitting around in an abandoned warehouse along the Gotham Wharf. They were passing the time playing poker and anxiously waiting for Sidney to come back with their food. 

"Man, I'm starved." Pauly, a burley man in a Brown Italian suit said. "Those wings are gonna be so good."

"Maybe he got 'im. Oh crap," Zucco said, throwing his cards on their makeshift table, grabbing his hair. "You never shoulda sent that wimp. He'll talk…"

"Calm down Tony," Ralph said. He was wearing a blue suit, fedora and sunglasses. "No one ever suspects Sid. Sit down and play your hand."

"You don't get it man. He's relentless. He won't stop. He's been followin' me around…"

"Yeah, I know whatcha mean." Bobby, wearing a tan suit said, placing more chips into the pot. "Had to rat on a counterfeiter I knew ta da Bat."

"How many times do I got to tell you, it's not the Bat. I'd rather it be the Bat, at least I know he won't off me."

"Maybe he's jus' wearin' a new costume ta throw ya off." Bobby suggested.

"I assure you, I am NOT Batman." a computerized voice said from above.

All four men looked up while pulling pieces out of their sport jackets. In the rafters they saw a red-light illuminating in the shape of an X. They emptied their clips in his direction as he jumped from his perch. He began to twist and turn in theair with a grace of an Olympic gymnast or circus acrobat. He landed in a crouching position on their poker table, shattering it to pieces. Two energy blasts took out Pauly and Ralph, while a rising sidekick took out Bobby who was behind him. Tony Zucco tried to run but was mysteriously held in place. He saw another masked figure descend from the rafters. It was a red-headed female, wearing a black jumpsuit that ended with a blue v-shaped design which left the top half of her chest and shoulders exposed. Her arms were covered up past her elbows by gloves with a blue stripe down the middle of them.

While Zucco might normally gawk at her cleavage, but his attention was now turned to that man standing in front of him. He was wearing a black costume with black cape with grey lining the inside of it. His utility belt was also grey as were his gauntlets, which had a red X on his palm and the back of his hand. Red Xs were also on the chest of the costume and on the grey, skull-shaped mask, and they began to glow.

"Look, Red X, please, I'll give you anything." Zucco pleaded.

"Zucco… I've waited a long time for this, and now I'm finally going to get my payback for what you did."

"Well, if you're talking about the tacky costumes you two are wearing; I totally see your beef." A female voice chirped in from behind. He turned around to see Batman and Robin standing at the front door.

"It's over, give it up." Batman said.

"Holy premature conclusion, Batman. What on earth possessed you to say that?" Red X said as the glow of the X on his face intensified.

_

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_**TAKING SIDES! Returns**_

"We're back; we only have a few minutes left, could you tell us about the Batman?"

"Well, most accounts of Batman were consistent for ten years or so. After the Arkham Breakout, Batman was noticed sporting some heavy artillery on his costume. While this may have been to deal with all of those psychos easier, there were a lot of rumors that the Batman had been killed during this time and that was his replacement. This armored version was around for a short while, before we started getting reports of the current Batman we have today."

"What about Batgirl, weren't there reports of her during surfacing around the time of the Arkham Breakout?"

"Yeah, but not much is known. She's been seen predominately in Bludhaven since the Breakout, so we don't really concern ourselves with her."

"Is there a possibility that the recent string of crimes have been committed by Batman and Robin?"

"Most of the eyewitnesses have described being robbed by a duo that resembles Batman and Robin, but…"

"We are out of time," Arturo interrupted the officer. "Thank you for coming on the show officer."

"My pleasure."

"Join me tomorrow night, as I'll have a blue ribbon panel to discuss the influence of Batman on vigilantism here and around the world. This is Arturo Rodriguez, not afraid to take a side. Good night Gotham."

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Chapter 3

_Originally posted at the Multiverse as E8:Batman #3 on 4/24/**07**_

**Anniversary part 3**

**Gotham City Wharfs**

Red X and Nightwing.

Batman and Robin.

The four of them stared at each other while Tony Zucco, being telekinetically bound to a chair by Nightwing, began to urinate on himself. The red-headed criminal turned to her partner and screamed "Do it." Red X spun around, charging his grey gauntlets to shot a potentially lethal energy blast to end Tony Zucco's life, when Zucco was saved by the quick reflexes of Robin as she threw an R-shaped shuriken that managed to redirect Red-X's shot by a few centimeters.

Batman went airborne simultaneously with Robin's throw. Nightwing managed to stop Batman's advance with her telekinesis and slam him to the ground, but this left her open to a flying kick to the stomach from Robin. Red-X extended his hand and was set to give Robin an energy blast to her back, but that plan was stopped as Batman grabbed his arm and threw him across the room. Robin's attack caused Nightwing to lose her concentration, setting Zucco free. Zucco made a break for the door, with Red X following right behind him.

"I can handle her, go after them." Robin said to Batman as he began his pursuit. Robin turned her attention back to Nightwing as she grabbed her collapsible Bo staff. "You know Breast-wing, with women like you wearing outfits like that; you're making it real hard for most people to take us costumed heroines seriously." Robin was commenting on the generous amount of cleavage that Nightwing's uniform was showing.

"If you got it, flaunt it, and my name's Nightwing."

"I think Breast-wing really captures your essence." Robin said as she charged Nightwing, leaping and extending her Bo staff to full length to perform an overhead attack. Nightwing dodged the telegraphed attack and pushed her away, with her telekinesis sending her into a stack of crates. Robin crawled away from her landing spot and saw Nightwing make lifting motions with her hands, and two nearby corresponding crates began to levitate. Nightwing made a throwing motion and the crates flew towards Robin's direction. She was barely able to roll out of their way.

"Girl-Wonder, I can do this all night." Nightwing said was she continued to do the same to the numerous crates in the warehouse.

"No, no, no." Zucco screamed to himself as he realized that he had run into a dead end. His only way out was a fire escape and he tried to climb it, but his sweaty hands kept him from doing so, causing him to fall to the alley floor. He looked up and saw the glowing red X that's been haunting him for the past couple of weeks. "Look… I'll give you anything… anything you want."

"What I want," Red X's computer-altered voice began as he grabbed the lapels of Zucco's shirt, "is your head on a pike. You're going to pay for what you did to my family."

"What… what are you talking about? I didn't do nothing."

"You scum, you don't even remember." Red X slammed him into a wall. "You don't remember going to a circus about ten years ago…"

"Christ… you're… the kid?"

"Yeah, I bounced around from different foster homes and different orphanages, but everyday, I thought about this and how I'm going to enjoy this."

"Put him down." Red X turned around to see Batman standing behind him. "Put him down or I'll put you down."

"You're going to protect this scum?" Red X threw his prey like a medicine ball against the wall. Batman stood silent, thinking how when he was Robin, he probably would've let Red X have his way with a slime bag like Zucco.

"Batman, please help me, I'll pay you." Zucco pleaded as he picked himself up from the ground.

"Shut up." Red X slapped Zucco across the face, knocking him down. "You want to save him… you're going to do it over my dead body." The X on his face began to glow.

_**Robin's War Journal**_

_I didn't know how much longer I could've keep dodging everything Breast-wing was throwing at me, especially when I started to breathe heavily and began to lose a step._

"I'm getting bored of this." _Breast-wing said while making a grabbing motion with her hand. I was stopped in my tracks as it felts like a hand just grabbed me. She made a pushing motion and I'm suddenly pinning me to a wall, the breath taken out of my body and the pain I was already feeling amplified. Breast-wing looked like she was grabbing something distant and I noticed a heavy-looking anchor being lifted up across the room, when the solution hit me._

_Her hands._

_Her telekinesis is controlled through her hands. I feel so stupid for not realizing it earlier. For whatever reason, Breast-wing didn't bind my arms at my side and that was going to be her big mistake. I grabbed a hand full of Rs from my belt and tossed them in her direction. She instinctively put her hands up to block them, dropping me and the big anchor. Before she probably realizes her mistake, I'm airborne and cracking her upside the head with my Bo. _

_She was down for the count._

_Winner: Robin._

_I took the communicator from my belt to check in on the boss. _"Batman, Nightwing is out of commission." _I cringed as I said that lame-o name._

"Stay with her, don't let her…" _Communication goes dead, but not before I hear a scream. I ran towards the exit praying that my partner was okay…_

Batman threw a couple of pellets at the feet of Red X, who jumped up and grabbed the steel grating of the fire escape. As he catapulted himself over the railing, he saw that a gas had been emitted from the pellets. "Come on Batman, do you think I'd be dumb enough not to have a built-in gas filter in my mask?"

"No, but that wasn't my only objective." Red X looked down and saw Tony Zucco passing out. Batman hoped that would make him useless as a hostage or possible human shield.

"Well, I appreciate the assist." Red X leapt from the steel grating and landed behind Batman after doing a somersault in mid-air. Batman threw a right at the villain, but he was quick, grabbing the punch and throwing Batman over his shoulder. Batman tucked his shoulder and rolled when he hit the pavement, coming out of it in a fighting stance facing his adversary. Red X charged Batman as blades extended from the posterior side of his hands, each shaped like the top half of an X. He swung at Batman's head and followed it with an uppercut. Batman ducked the first attack, stepped back to dodge the second and countered with a thrusting sidekick and a palm strike to the chest that managed to put some distance between the two. Red X looked at his chest armor and in the middle of it was a small rectangle-shaped device that emitted jet-like propulsion sending him into a nearby dumpster. Red X emerged from the wreckage visibly discombobulated.

"Heh, I'm impressed." Red X said. He ran toward the fire escape, jumped on to the ladder and catapulted, flipped and somersaulted his was up to the rooftop with the showmanship of a circus acrobat.

_His acrobatics…_ Batman thought, _they look familiar, almost Olympic-level_. He followed Red X to the rooftop and was greeted with some energy blasts coming from Red X's gauntlets.

"This doesn't have to be difficult." Red X pleaded his case. "I'm actually helping you. How many lives do you think this mafia scumbag has destroyed besides my own? How many other children must he have left orphaned because of his protection schemes, loan sharking, drug-dealing and God-knows what else he's done."

"Turn him over to the law." Batman said.

"The law's broken. The law has let him walk free for the past ten years. My parents deserve justice, they deserve vengeance." Red X increased his assault on Batman, who countered by throwing a batarang at Red X, who blasted it but realized too late that it was the kind of batarang with a blinking dot in the center. It exploded on contact with the energy beam almost sending Red X over the roof's edge.

Batman was going in for the collar when he received a transmission from Robin. "Batman, Nightwing is out of commission."

"Stay with her, don't let her…" Batman didn't get to finish his sentence as Red X recovered from the explosion and managed to get a couple of headshots in on Batman before firing a close-range energy blast, sending Batman down to the alley below.

"Wow, looks like my street cred is going to get a huge bump." Red X said as he made his way down the building to a barely conscious Batman. He was about to finish the Dark Knight when his gauntlets failed to respond to his command. An internal diagnostic showed Red X that his suit was out of power, due to the multiple blasts damaging the power system. "Damn it"

"Get away from him." Robin shouted as she leaped toward Red X, prepared to deliver an overhead blow with her Bo. Red X easily sidestepped the telegraphed move , grabbed Robin by the throat and positioned himself behind her, popping his X-shaped blades from the back of his gauntlets, placing them at the Girl-Wonder's throat.

"You know, you shouldn't be so reckless with your attacks." Red X suggested.

"Let her go." Batman said staggering to his feet. He tried to move further but was unable to do so. He looked past Red X and Robin to see a battered Nightwing holding him in place.

"You know, I will, but not until we get in the clear." Red X said backing away from Batman. "Don't worry about this little cutie getting hurt. I'm no petty murderer, not yet."

**WBGK TV Studios**

Arturo Rodriguez was reviewing a variety of new footage in his office for his late-night talk show when a burly looking man, in a torn and disheveled brown Italian suit barged in.

"I'm sorry Mr. Rodriguez," Arturo's secretary said, following the man in. "I told him you were busy but he just barged his way in here…"

"It's okay, I know Pauly." Arturo said, waving off his secretary. "What do you have for me?" he asked his wise-guy friend.

"You heard about the wharf tonight, right?" Pauly said as he reached into his jacket pocket and took out his cell phone.

"Yeah, what about it?" Pauly flipped the top of his phone, pressed a couple of buttons and turned it over so Arturo could see the video he had taken of Batman and Robin going over the crime scene at the wharf.

"How did they escape?" Batman asked his partner in the video.

"She had a short-range teleporter on her." Robin answered.

"Oh, my God…" Arturo sputtered.

Pauly slammed the top half of his phone shut. "How much is dat worth to ya?"

**The Batcave**

"Well Maser Jason, it looks like you have a concussion sir." Alfred Pennyworth said as he shone a flashlight into the eyes of his employer Jason Todd. "We should probably get you to a doctor."

"Just give me some extra-strength Tylenol or something. I'll be fine."

"Yes sir, very good sir." Alfred said. "Anything for you Miss Stephanie?"

"I'm fine, thank you Alfred." Stephanie said, holding an icepack to her forehead.

"Alfred, give us a moment alone please?" Jason asked.

"Certainly sir." As Alfred left the cave, Jason turned his attention to his 16 year old partner. "You disobeyed my order."

"When?" Stephanie asked, taking the icepack off of her head.

"When I told you not to leave Nightwing."

"I heard you scream. I thought you needed my help."

"That was the second time you disobeyed me."

"When was the first?"

"When I told you to take the night off."

"Well, I think in hindsight, it was a good thing I didn't."

"That's not the point Stephanie. How can I trust you to be there for me and have my back when I can't depend on you to follow orders? Because you left her, both she and Red X got away and Zucco's still in danger."

"You know, it's not like Zucco deserves our protection. He's a mafia dirt bag piece of trash and I'm sure he had this coming to him." Stephanie put the icepack back on her head.

A memory suddenly came into Jason's mind, a memory of when he was Robin helping Batman take down a drug-dealing/pimping operation.

"I had to take him down!" A 14 year old Jason Todd told his mentor, Bruce Wayne. Jason Todd was wearing his classic Robin costume of a red tunic with green sleeves, yellow cape, green gloves, pixie boots and short pants.

"You shattered his collarbone" Bruce Wayne lectured his adopted son. He was wearing his Batsuit with the blue cape, cowl and gloves and had the bat symbol on h is chest in a yellow ellipse. "There were at least ten different ways you could have ended that and none of them had to involve that kind of damage."

"He's a drug-dealing pimp. I didn't think I had to fluff up some pillows before I took him out." Jason countered, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"We need him. He would've talked. He couldn't talk because he was going into shock from the injuries you inflicted."

"You're right. I'm sorry. That was dumb." Bruce Wayne was about to smile, thinking the boy learned his lesson, but would soon be disappointed in what his sidekick said next. "But that doesn't mean he didn't deserve it."

"This was a mistake." Jason said out loud.

"What's a mistake?" Stephanie asked.

"Bringing you into this, it was a mistake. I'm just repeating the same mistakes Bruce did by putting you out there when you're not ready for it. I almost died because of that and I can't let that happen to you. You're out as Robin."

"No… no, you can't do that. You can't do this to me." Stephanie began to plead with tears filling in her eyes. "What about the past year, all of the good things we've done. You're just going to throw me out because of what happened today?"

"It's been building for a while. You've been becoming more reckless, careless, and are becoming more prone to using excessive force. Even Red X could tell. If you didn't go for the knockout right away, you wouldn't have gotten in that situation were you were a hostage. What if it had been Two-Face, or Killer Croc, or the Jo…" Jason hesitated. He always hesitated when saying that name. "I can't let what happened to me happen to you."

"I can change. I will change, I promise. I won't even fart without your permission." Stephanie's attempt at humor was lost on Jason.

"Look, Stephanie…"

"Jason, please reconsider. When we're out there… I feel the difference we make. It feels like I'm compensating my daughter for not being able to be her mother by making the world she's going to grow up in a better place."

"But Steph…"

"I'll train more, I'll go on inactive duty like you suggested yesterday. I'll hone my skills. I'll do anything to prove myself to you. What about all those talks of us being a team and us being partners. You've said that Batman needs a Robin."

"I need a Robin that listens…"

"One more chance, please, I'm begging you. Give me one more chance."

Jason looked into her tear-filled eyes and hoped what came out of his mouth next wouldn't lead to him staring at her grave. "Steph… this is it. It's zero tolerance from here on out. You disobey me, no matter how minor it seems you're done."

"Thank you," Steph said, hugging Jason. "I promise I won't let you down."

As Tony Zucco was leaving the Gotham Supreme Courthouse, he saw Sidney, also known as Sid the Squid frantically waving at him. Tony made his way toward Sidney, glad to be out on ROR, thanks to the judge being a family 'friend'. "Hey Squid, how've the boys been?"

"Great man," Sidney began as they walked to a parked limousine "since Pauly handed them the video of the Bat, we've been living it up big time. You should just see the women that have been all over us. Our street cred is bigger than ever."

"Women…you too?" Sidney nodded yes. "Damn."

"Yeah, you won't believe the broad I'm hooked up with. She's a fashion designer. She's throwing us a party tonight and came with me to pick you up." Sid opened the door to the limo and inside was a gorgeous, busty red-head wearing a black dress that left nothing to the imagination and almost caused Tony to slip on his own drool.

"My manners, allow me to introduce my self. My name is Tony Zucco."

"Hi, I'm Cheyanne. Cheyanne Freetmont."

**The End.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Originally posted at the Multiverse as E8: Batman #4 on 6/1/07_

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**Wayne Manor**

"Alfred!" Jason Todd yelled as he entered his home, dressed in a black business suit and trench coat. After a day of sitting in on board meetings at Wayne Enterprises, he couldn't wait to get out of the thing. He hated wearing suits and if it weren't for keeping up with appearances, he would never wear one. "What's for dinner?"

"Chicken Parmesan sir." the loyal family servant said, handing his employer a stack of mail and taking Jason's coat. "An eventful day at the office?"

"You know, multi-billion dollar deal here, charitable dealings there, same boring crap as usual…" Jason said, sifting through the mail. He came across an invitation for the Kane Academic Awards banquet that was being held in a couple of days, honoring the best scholars in the Gotham-Bludhaven area. "Alfred, didn't we get this invitation weeks ago?" Jason asked showing Alfred the envelope.

"Why, certainly sir. I had RSVP'ed the following day. You and Miss Stephanie are still planning on attending, correct?"

"Yeah," Jason said, opening the envelope. It was exactly identical to the invitation that he had received weeks ago, except it had a new message written on it.

YOU STOLE MY DAUGHTE**®**

"My goodness sir, from the look of that message…"

"Yeah…" Jason said as he ran his hand through his black hair. "This could be trouble."

**The Batcave**

Batman returned later that evening, earlier than usual after doing his rounds around the city and making a stop at the Gotham Morgue. It's been a while since he went out on rounds by himself and felt very strange, but after the fiasco with Red X and Tony Zucco's subsequent disappearance, Robin was placed on inactive duty and was to undergo more training.

"Welcome back, Master Jason." Alfred said while dusting the giant penny that was kept in the cave. "What brings you home so soon?"

"A John Doe just showed up at Gotham Morgue, badly mutilated." Batman said as he made his way to his computer and placed a vile from his utility belt into it for a DNA analysis. What took most labs weeks to do, the computer in the Batcave took minutes.

"What was it about this particular fellow that made you come back here for a DNA analysis?"

"First, there was word on the street that someone big wanted him killed. When I got to the morgue, there was something familiar about him He was too cut-up to make any certain ID, but I just got this feeling…" After a few minutes, the computer spit out a name and confirmed Jason's bad feeling.

"My God sir isn't that…"

"Yeah, the John Doe was the father of Stephanie's baby." Batman plopped down into his chair. "Too many coincidences, Cluemaster breaks out of jail, we get the invitation and now Stephanie's old boyfriend turns up dead."

"I thought you don't believe coincidences sir."

"I don't, but what bothers me is that the Cluemaster never resorted to murder before, he was strictly a thief. This can't be for revenge; Cluemaster always blamed Stephanie for her pregnancy, that's why he threw her out, leaving her to fend for herself in Crime Alley."

"Then perhaps it's redemption."

"I think you're right. It's the only thing that makes sense. He must want to get in her good graces, but why?"

There was a moment of silence. "Are you going to tell Miss Stephanie?" Alfred asked.

Jason sat silently staring at the keyboard console of his computer, and then looked across the cave at two glass-case memorials. One contained his old Robin costume, which Bruce set up as a memorial to Jason when he thought Jason had died in the line of duty. Next to it was a similar memorial that Jason had set up for Bruce, containing his old Batman suit.

"I have to tell her." Jason said. "I remember when Bruce kept my father's murder a secret. I know he did it to protect me, but when I found out… the betrayal and lack of respect I felt… I can't to that to Stephanie. For her to truly be my partner we can't have secrets between us."

"Very good sir." Alfred approvingly replied.

Arthur Brown stood across the street from the Gotham Banquet Hall in downtown Gotham. He was wearing a trench coat and hat, hoping he wouldn't arouse suspicion. The hall was going to host a banquet later in the evening that would honor the top scholars in the Gotham-Bludhaven area and his daughter Stephanie would be among the guests of honor.

Arthur Brown was publicly known as the costumed villain the Cluemaster, who had a notorious compulsion to leave clues to his next robbery at the current one he was working on, or sometimes would mail them to the police directly. Arthur was constantly baffling the police, until the Batman showed up and began to foil his schemes. Arthur began a steady routine of going in and out of jail or Arkham. Currently, he was supposed to be serving a mandatory 15 year sentence for being a repeat offender, add the multiple counts of robbery and Arthur Brown was supposed to be locked away for a long time.

It was his last arrest that motivated him to be outside of the banquet hall on this night. He was working a job about a year ago when Batman and a female crime fighter showed up and busted the whole operation. The female was wearing a strange purple-hooded uniform with a black mask and white eyes that showed nothing of her face, but later revealed herself to be his daughter, Stephanie. He blamed Batman for corrupting her and swore to get even with him until he, like everyone else in prison and in the community, heard of the rumors of a female Robin over the past year. Arthur had suspected who it was and it wasn't until the recently released video shown on the latest Taking Sides confirmed who Robin was. A father could recognize his daughter anywhere and it didn't take him long to figure out who her partner was.

In some ways, Arthur was glad that his daughter managed to solve his clue and bring him down. It showed she had inherited his intelligence after all. He found himself now regretting the opportunities that he had lost with his daughter and the fact he missed out on her potential. It led to him breaking out of jail and looking to reconcile with his daughter. He knew he would also have to make good with her mother Crystal, but that would've been easy, since all he had to do was keep her in pills and she would be fine.

He pulled out a picture from his jacket pocket. It was a picture of his family vacationing at Disney. He and Crystal were laughing and Stephanie, around 5 years old at the time, was perched on his shoulders holding a mouse ear-shaped balloon. A tear escaped his eye; there was still a part of him that longed for the family that he neglected for so long.

"I'm sorry to interrupt a Kodak moment," a voice said, coming from the shadows of a nearby alley. Arthur turned to see a blonde-haired man, with a buzzcut and a similar trench coat emerge from the alley.

"No you're not Zsasz."

"No really, the streetlight, trench coat, hat, the nice family picture, the tear… all really good stuff." Zsasz said. "But alas, I'm here on business. I want my money for whacking that little turd."

"Here," Arthur said, handing Zsasz a brown envelope.

"You know, when you told me what he did to your daughter, it really touched me, so much that I gave him a special mark." Zsasz opened his trench coat to reveal his bare chest which was scared with tally marks. He pointed to a freshly bleeding one, right above his heart. "Right there…" Zsasz laughed as he disappeared to the shadows he came from.

Arthur turned his attention back to the picture of his family. "We'll be together again…"

"Jason, come in." Crystal brown said as she answered the door and gave Jason a kiss on the cheek. She escorted him into the two-story residence she shared with her daughter. "She's upstairs getting ready. Wow, you look so handsome." Jason had changed into a tux for the evening, another thing he hated to wear.

"Thank you Mrs. Brown. Are you sure there's no way you can't join us?"

"I wish I could, but Stephanie never tells me about theses things. I only heard about it a couple of days ago, too little notice to switch my shift. Well, I have to get going. It's great seeing you Jason; you have to come over for dinner sometime." Crystal grabbed her coat and hugged Jason, which caused an empty prescription bottle to fall out of the pocket. "I don't know how many times I can thank you for saving Stephanie from that cesspool in Crime Alley and helping get her life back. I never should've let Arthur throw her out like that."

"Well, we all can't be perfect." Jason said. They hugged one more time and she left for work. Jason reached down and grabbed the empty bottle and saw that it was a prescription for OxyContin. Jason shook his head, knowing that he'd have to share another piece of bad news with Stephanie. "Stephanie, hurry up." he yelled.

"I'm coming down now." Stephanie walked down the stairs in a full-length purple dress with matching heels and a black purse. "How do I look?"

"You look great." Jason said.

"Thanks." Stephanie noticed the prescription bottle in Jason's hand. "Is that my mothers?"

"Yeah." Jason said handing her the bottle.

"I heard her tell you how I don't tell her things. Most of the time, she's too doped up to remember the things I do tell her." Stephanie angrily threw the bottle against the wall causing it to break.

Jason knew her frustration. He watched step-mother Catherine deal with heroin addiction and eventually overdose, but that wasn't his immediate concern for his partner. "How are you doing with the other thing?"

"You mean Dean…" Stephanie ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "Well, he wasn't a saint and he did abandon me when I was pregnant, but I did love him and had his baby…" Stephanie began to breakdown and cry. "He didn't deserve to die like that, no matter what he did and if my father's responsible, I'm going to make him pay."

Stephanie managed to have a good time at the banquet, socializing with others in her peer group and rubbing elbows with some of the most recognizable people in Gotham. Jason was bored and his thoughts drifted, circling around the Cluemaster and what he could be up too. _He has to be here, he knows who Batman and Robin are and had sent that message on an invitation to this get together_. He thought while he surveyed the crowd to see if he noticed anything unfamiliar when he then recognized an 18 year old dark-haired boy that was walking towards him.

"Long time no see Jay. What's it been, two years?" he said.

"Tim Drake… how's it going?" Jason said unenthusiastically.

"You know… doing my best to live the civilian life in beautiful Bludhaven." Tim noticed Jason staring at Stephanie, who was now surrounded by a pack of red-blooded teenaged males. "So that's my replacement… she's a cutie." Jason continued to give Tim an icy response. "You'd think we'd be more civil to each other, given the fact we used to be members of the same 'fraternity'."

"Keywords: used to be. Did you come here just to annoy me about the past?"

"You look tense; it's probably your night-job." Tim paused to gauge Jason's reaction. "I bet it has to do with your sidekick's baby-daddy turning up in the morgue and her father's recent breakout of prison." Jason looked at Tim who gave him a smirk. "You'd think I'd forget everything Bruce taught?" Jason would never admit it, but he knew Tim was a great detective, probably better than he was.

"You know Tim; I didn't believe it the first time when I heard some overachieving 14 year old discovered Batman's identity. You know it and I know it that he let you find out."

"I don't know why you always get your short pants in a bunch about me. It's not like you got fired and I was your replacement. You have no idea what it was like doing my job with your shadow constantly hanging over me. What it was like to see that costume hanging in that display everyday… I had to be a better Robin than you for Bruce to even let me wear the damn uniform."

"Yeah, you were so good, you quit after Bruce died, when things got tough."

Tim paused for a moment. "You know, it's not like I'm totally retired, I'm just not on the front lines anymore. I help Batgirl out with the detective stuff. I'm doing my part to make sure Bludhaven gets better, but I can't be out there anymore."

"How is Cassie doing?" Jason asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Well… though she is worried about you suing her for copyright infringement." Tim's mouth almost dropped when Jason chuckled a little bit.

Jason composed himself quickly and made another scan of the room. "I'm going to get some air. Say hello to your father for me."

"Say hi to Alfred for me." Tim said as they walked away from each other.

After his conversation with Tim Drake, Jason decided to do a search around the building to see if he could find the Cluemaster or any clues he may have left, but found nothing. He had Alfred watching the outside of the Banquet Hall and he had nothing to report. _That just leaves one more place_. Jason thought as he stepped on the roof. He grabbed a cigar from his jacket pocket and lit up. Bruce used to berate him about smoking when he first took him in. While he quit, he sometimes liked to indulge himself on occasion. Sometimes, like tonight, it was to calm his nerves.

"Arthur, I know you're there." Jason said. "I can hear you moving."

Arthur Brown emerged from behind a vent and into Jason's view. "You know, that's a disgusting habit."

"So is being a criminal." Jason countered, taking a drag of his cigar.

"I did what I had to do to provide for my family. Not everyone is lucky enough to fall into luxury or win the lottery. In your case, you got both."

"Providing for your family? That's what you call beating and doping up your wife and throwing your pregnant 14 year old daughter out on the street?"

"People like you make me sick." Arthur ranted, moving closer to Jason. "You think you know what's best for the little people. You think that with your money or taking in some pet charity case, you can dictate the values of society. What makes YOU worst of all is that you go running around rooftops playing judge, jury, and executioner, then suck my daughter into it and fill her head with some righteous dogma and turned her against me."

"Your own selfishness and greed turned your daughter against you. You have no one to blame but yourself." Jason took another puff of his cigarette. "You're going to stay the hell away from Stephanie and Crystal and when the cops get here, you're going back to jail."

"I'm not going anywhere until I speak with my daughter." Arthur said pulling out a gun.

"Well, I'm right here." The door to the roof was open and in the doorway was Stephanie. She walked toward the two with her heels clicking on the rooftop as she went. "Can you leave us alone?" She asked Jason, who took one last drag of his cigar before putting it out and leaving the roof. Stephanie turned toward her father.

"Stephie," Arthur said as he put his gun away. "You look great. I can't begin to tell you how pro…"

"Hurry up and tell me what you have to say to me." Stephanie interrupted.

"I know we're in a bit of a rough spot in our relationship, but… I just want us to be a family again."

"I remember you saying that the day Jason brought me back home. Nothing changed then, why should I think things will be different now? You're an escaped convict. Is being a happy family a life on the run? Maybe we can pull off jobs together? Is that what you really had in mind?"

"You know, things would've been different if you and your friend didn't screw me on that job that got be sent up the river." Arthur stepped up to his daughter, but his daughter stood firm and was not intimidated. Arthur backed down. "I've made my peace with that, ever since I discovered your secret life. Don't worry about that, I'm not going to tell anyone and as much as I would love to tell all of those psychos that jerk put away who he really is, it would be too easy to connect him to you." Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out the photograph he was looking at earlier. "Do you remember this? Our trip to Disney? It wasn't all bad and we can have times like that again."

Stephanie started to cry. That trip to Disney was one of the very few times she could remember the Brown family being happy together. "How many people did you have to rob to afford that trip? How many people are going to be victims for the happiness you want? How many of them are going to end up like Dean?"

"Stephie, I had nothing to do with that, but as far as I'm concerned, that punk got what he deserved for what he did to you."

"God you're so selfish, you did that for yourself."

"Stephie, listen too me…" Arthur put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. She peeled it off, placed him in a wrist lock and took in down hard to the ground.

"I'm only going to tell you this once," She said as she stuck her heel into his throat while sirens closed in on the banquet hall. "You're going to stay away from me and you're going to stay the f--- away from my mother." She dug her heel a little deeper. "I'm going to find the evidence I need to connect you to Dean's murder and then I'm going to come after you." Stephanie turned towards the door and saw Jason standing in the doorway. "I wanna go home…" she said walking towards him, not once looking back at her father.

**The Next Morning…**

Commissioner Michael Akins pulled up to the residence of Gotham TV personality Arturo Rodriguez, which was swarming with cops and CSU people. He never got along Rodriguez, since he was the one who started making accusations that the GCPD promoted Akins's to appease an affirmative action policy that the police department had implemented. Akins knew he deserved his appointment and most of the cops on the force agreed, but there was a noticeable sect that caused Akins's tenure to be a rough and controversial ride. He sometimes wondered why Rodriguez, a minority himself, would make accusations like that, especially when all he had was the hot air of a bunch of bigoted cops, but Akins knew that Rodriguez was about only one thing and that was ratings.

He walked up the steps into the house and was greeted by his two top homicide detectives, Crispus Allen and Renee Montoya, two more officers who had to deal with rumblings that their promotions were due to affirmative action. Both gave him a look that told him he wasn't going to be getting much sleep any time soon. "Give me the details."

"The housekeeper found them this morning when she came in to clean the house. Nothing's missing, so robbery can be ruled out." Allen said as the three of them made their way into the house. It had looked as if a hurricane had gone through the Rodriguez residence, with things thrown everywhere or destroyed.

"It has to be that batman special he did, why else would he have targeted Rodriguez." Montoya said. "We know from his Arkham files he's obsessed with Batman."

"I was just hoping that these last two years of inactivity were a sign that he was finally taken off this earth and sent to the hell he belongs in." Akins said as they walked up to the dead bodies of Arturo Rodriguez, his wife and their eight year old son. "Make sure you keep certain details out of the press. The last thing we need is a widespread public panic." Akins was referring to the fact that all three victims were sporting the infamous rictus grins that were the calling card of their murderer.

_**Next Issue… THE JOKER!!!**_

13


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